Wonderful Views of Ancient and Modern Times (Volume 1 and 2) - Basic Collection of Chinese Family Books. Volume of Opera and Fiction

Author: (Ming) Baongong Laoren (compiler), Li Xuefeng, Xu Cuilan (annotations)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: The Marvelous Stories of Ancient and Modern Times is a selected collection of vernacular short stories, primarily drawn from Feng Menglong's Three Words and Ling Mengchu's Two Snaps. In the preface, Xiao Hua Zhu Master highly praises Three Words and Two Snaps, and explains the purpose of compiling The Marvelous Stories of Ancient and Modern Times: "When Three Words and Two Snaps are combined, they total two hundred stories, with vast volumes, making it difficult to read through entirely. Moreover, if one selects exhaustively, how can everything be extraordinary? For example, even in an era of public selection, can there not be one or two mediocre officials? I planned to select the best hundred stories and have them reprinted to form a great collection. However, Baongong Laoren's selection resonated with my heart, and he engraved and published forty volumes, titled The Marvelous Stories of Ancient and Modern Times."
The works in this book, from various perspectives and to varying degrees, directly or indirectly, broadly and deeply reflect the life and thoughts of the urban class at the time (some works may not be directly related to the urban class, but are understood through their perspective, reflecting their thoughts to some extent). Even after centuries, when we read them today, we still find them intimate, engaging, and captivating, drawn by the authors' enchanting artistic touch.
The book selects a total of forty stories. Among them, eight are from Feng Menglong's Clarifying Stories for the World (Ancient and Modern Stories, Volume One), namely: Teng Dayin's Ghostly Judgment of Family Property, Pei Jin Gong's Rightful Return of a Wife, Wu Baoan Gives Up Home to Rescue a Friend, Yang Jiao'ai Sacrifices Himself for Friendship, Shen Xiaoxia's Meeting with the Emperor's Edict of Sending an Expedition, Jiang Xingge's Reunion with the Pearl Shirt, Chen Yushi's Skillful Examination of the Gold Hairpin and Jade Hairpin, and Jin Yuniu Beats the Unfeeling Lover with a Stick. Ten are from Admonishing Stories for the World, namely: Du Shiniang's Anger in Drowning the Hundred-Jeweled Box, Li Tiesheng's Drunken Draft of a Letter to a Barbarian Prince, Song Jinguang's Breaking the Felt Hat, and Yu Boya's Breaking His Piano to Thank a Friend.